Legacy Effects of Human Land Use: Ecosystems as Time-Lagged Systems

Abstract

Today, most ecosystems show some degree of human modification, ranging from subtle influences to complete remodeling and reshaping into anthropogenic ecosystems. In the first issue of the journal Ecosystems, the field of historical ecology, which focuses on the historical development of ecosystems, was prominently positioned with the papers of Foster and others (Ecosystems 1:96-119, 1998) and Fuller and others (Ecosystems 1:76-95, 1998). Starting from these two contributions, we (1) discuss how anthropogenic activities affect ecosystems and their development, (2) outline how land use can be assessed in ecosystem research, and we (3) discuss what the consequences of a historical perspective for our understanding of ecosystems are. We conclude by stating that whereas land-use intensity over time is an ecologically highly relevant parameter to grasp, the availability, quality, and characteristics of historical sources often restrict the analyses. In order to make optimal use of the sources and methods available and to strengthen this field of research and also increase its societal relevance, we suggest building interdisciplinary teams from a very early project phase on. Core task for these teams will be to jointly define research questions considering source availability, and including and merging modeling and experimental approaches in the study design. We propose that adopting a landscape perspective in historical ecology would provide a helpful framework and valuable background for such novel integrated analyses.

Integrated Landscape Approach: Closing the Gap between Theory and Application

“…Next to insights in landscape functioning, this is one of the places where the scientific community is required to provide insights on the main system components, their functioning and interaction [34], to conduct spatially-explicit assessments of ecosystem services [35], including compiling information on their historical development, variability, time-lags, etc. [36]. Methodologies at hand include historical analyses, community asset mapping and ES modelling to obtain insight into the current functioning of the landscape, but also in the ways landscape functioning has changed across time.…”

Lecciones ecológicas de la historia amazónica: impacto diferencial del uso del suelo en las estructuras y biomasas aéreas de bosques secundarios en Napo, Ecuador

“…ABt = total basal area, ABp = mean basal area, BT = above ground biomass calculated using the formula BT = -26.63 + 0.42 dap 2 (by Cuenca et al 2014). See land-use histories in figure 2. rios siguen rutas sucesionales distintas a las de otros (ver también Bürgi et al 2016). Así, para los bosques secundarios estudiados, la tala y el retiro selectivos de árboles durante la sucesión, y su concomitante formación de claros, explican por qué un bosque cercano a los 40 años posee un área basal y una biomasa aérea semejantes a las de otro bosque de apenas ~12 años, pero con una densidad mayor a la de este último.…”

“…abandonar un lote para ir a estudiar a la ciudad) (Garrido-Pérez y Glasnović 2014). Si ello es así, y si la regeneración de los bosques varía según el uso que cada propietario le de a su terreno, entonces deben existir asociaciones entre los contextos histórico y socioeconómico que determinan las decisiones de uso del suelo, por un lado, y las características que adquieren los ecosistemas forestales durante la sucesión secundaria, por el otro (ver también Chazdon 2003, Bürgi et al 2016.…”

“…Lo que hacen los humanos sobre un lote se refleja con retardo en los ecosistemas (Chazdon 2003, Bürgi et al 2016. Garrido-Pérez y Glasnović (2014) respaldan eso argumentando que los árboles son organismos sésiles y más longevos que los humanos por lo que sus individuos, poblaciones y comunidades tardan décadas en crecer y estructurarse después del impacto antrópico, reteniendo señales de impactos ocurridos en el pasado, tales como cicatrices de poda, tocones post-tala, y reclutamiento pulsado debido a remoción, alterándose la estructura del bosque resultante (Garrido-Pérez y Glasnović 2014).…”

Europe: the paradox of landscape change : A case-study based contribution to the understanding of landscape transitions

“…In Northwestern Europe, farms often are agribusinesses; experts described the agro-industrial complex as driving landscape change. Although it was observed in the previous section that land use intensification is slowing down, it is possible that there is a time lag in the impact of previous intensification processes on landscape quality, as has been demonstrated for biodiversity (Bürgi et al 2016;Nagelkerke et al 2002). Moreover, compounding factors in landscape change processes include urbanisation of the countryside and tourism development.…”